1. Field of the Invention
Embodiments of the invention relates to an air conditioner, more particularly, to an air conditioner that is able to implement a defrosting mode while supplying warm air to a room continuously, by operating an front heat exchange member of an outdoor heat exchanger as a condenser for condensing refrigerant and by maintaining a rear heat exchange member as an evaporator.
2. Discussion of the Related Art
An air conditioner is an electric device configured to heat/cool or purify room air to establish the comfortable indoor environment.
Such an air conditioner may be classified into a separate type air conditioner having an indoor unit and an outdoor unit separately and an integral type (or wall type) air conditioner having an indoor unit and an outdoor unit integrally formed with each other as one device. Also, the air conditioner may be classified based on the volume of the capacity, into a single type air conditioner configured for a small place, with a capacity capable of operating one indoor unit, a large type air conditioner with a large capacity fitted to a company or restaurant, and a multi-type air conditioner with a capacity capable of operating a plurality of indoor units sufficiently.
The separate type air conditioner consists of the indoor unit installed in a room to supply warm air or cool air and the outdoor unit configured to perform compression, expansion and so on with respect to refrigerant to enable the indoor unit to perform sufficient heat exchanging.
The air conditioner has a circulation cycle of compression, condensation, expansion and evaporation with respect to refrigerant circulating therein sequentially, to transmit heat. The air conditioner may be operated by a cooling cycle exhausting the heat of the room outside in the summer and a heating cycle of a heat pump circulating air in the reverse direction in the window to supply heat to a room
Meanwhile, when the air conditioner is operated by the cooling cycle, a heat exchanger provided in the outdoor unit (hereinafter, an outdoor heat exchanger) absorbs heat and refrigerant is evaporated. After that, heat is exhausted while the refrigerant is condensed in a heat exchanger provided in the indoor unit (hereinafter, an indoor heat exchanger). However, when the heat is absorbed while the refrigerant of the outdoor unit is evaporated, a surface temperature is lowered remarkably and the lowered surface temperature makes frost occur on a surface of the outdoor heat exchanger. Accordingly, there might be a problem of lowered heat exchange efficiency in the outdoor heat exchanger.
In a conventional defrosting method used in a conventional air conditioner to remove frost from the surface of the outdoor heat exchanger, the circulation of the refrigerant in the heating cycle is reversed into the circulation in the cooling cycle. In other words, when the heating cycle is converted into the cooling cycle, the refrigerant of the outdoor heat exchanger is condensed and heat is emitted. Such an emitted heat may remove the frost from the surface of the outdoor heat exchanger.
However, in such a conventional defrosting method using the cooling cycle, indoor heating has to be stopped and the indoor temperature might be disadvantageously lowered while the low temperature refrigerant is heat-exchanged with room air by the indoor heat exchanger. Also, during the defrosting process, the temperature of the indoor heat exchanger is lowered. When the heating mode re-starts after the defrosting mode, it takes quite a long time to heat air.